Evaluation of the association between excessive screen use, sleep patterns and behavioral and cognitive aspects in preschool population. A systematic review

Llanos Merín; Abel Toledano-González; Luz Fernández-Aguilar; Marta Nieto; Nuria Del Olmo; José M Latorre

doi:10.1007/s00787-024-02430-w

Evaluation of the association between excessive screen use, sleep patterns and behavioral and cognitive aspects in preschool population. A systematic review

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024 Apr 2. doi: 10.1007/s00787-024-02430-w. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Llanos Merín¹, Abel Toledano-González^{2

3}, Luz Fernández-Aguilar^{4

5}, Marta Nieto^{3

6}, Nuria Del Olmo⁷, José M Latorre^{3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.
² Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Talavera de la Reina, Spain.
³ Biomedicine Institute, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.
⁴ Biomedicine Institute, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain. marialuz.fernandez@uclm.es.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Law, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain. marialuz.fernandez@uclm.es.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain.
⁷ Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, National University of Distance Education, Madrid, Spain.

PMID: 38565731
DOI: 10.1007/s00787-024-02430-w

Abstract

In this review, we analyzed the possible relationship between the excessive use of screens and sleep patterns, and how this may affect certain behavioral and cognitive factors in preschool children. The selection, extraction and synthesis of the data were conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. The search was carried out in the electronic databases Medline (PubMed), PsycINFO (American Psychological Association), Scopus and Web of Science (WOS). Of the 597 articles initially identified, 13 met the inclusion criteria. The risk of bias of the articles selected was evaluated using a specific scale created for this purpose. The results found indicate that excessive use of screens is associated with a negative impact on the duration and quality of sleep-in preschoolers, and this worsening of sleep in infancy is related with a greater probability of the appearance of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems and certain cognitive problems. The results also suggest that sleep could play a mediating or moderating role as a bioregulatory system that attenuates or increases the onset of behavioral and cognitive difficulties in those children most exposed to digital devices.

Keywords: Cognition; Externalizing; Internalizing; Preschoolers; Screen use; Sleep.

Publication types

Review